Wheaton Wire

Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: News

Thought the Meadows bathrooms were bad? These pictures should make it clear why 151 Pine St. was condemned by the Town of Norton. Nonetheless, despite its present appearance, "Pine Street", with its two massive fireplaces and high ceilings, must have been a beautiful house at some point. The Wire was accompanied by the owners of what is now the neighborhood parking lot (the old lot was subdivided) in taking these photographs.

Media Credit: Chuck Platt '10 / Managing Editor & Sports Editor

Let's be honest; nothing says college like a disgusting house. One of the most notorious off-campus residences in recent memory, 151 Pine St., was officially condemned by the Norton Board of Health on Sep. 21, 2007, but it had been vacant since the end of 2006-2007 school year. The house exists now only in the memories of the Class of 2010.

151 Pine, generally referred to just as "Pine Street" by students, sits at the end of a long driveway, tucked behind a thick line of trees shielding the house from the street. There are a number of log-cabin style buildings in various states of disrepair grouped around a large overgrown yard slowly melding into the thick forest at the back of the lot. There are remnants of the former inhabitants everywhere: benches still surround the blacked ring of a fire-pit and cracked Christmas lights still cling to the gutters and into the main room of the house, where a broken Wheaton lacrosse helmet rests on a bed of leaves and yellowed notebook paper in the middle of the floor.

Kate Kimball '10 said, "I felt like I always needed to wear a Christmas sweater when I was there because of all of the lights and the log cabin."

Pine Street does not remain completely abandoned, despite its dilapidated state. There are signs of new inhabitants in a number of makeshift dwellings that have been set up in a few of the buildings on the back of the lot.

Many of the students remember the house in a fond, albeit negative light. They look back on their personal experiences with gritty nostalgia, smiling as they talk of stumbling through piles of used beer cans and Solo cups, or slipping into hidden rooms containing any number of absurd situations only conceivable in this infamous house of salaciousness.

Brian Harris '10 recalls, "I went there once for breakfast and we had burnt eggs, and entire bottle of ketchup. But instead of putting little dashes of salt and pepper, they poured the entire shaker on the plate. This is to say that the guys who lived there went all out. It was either five kegs and a wild party or nothing." Harris also mentioned that, "none of the guys who lived in the cabins had keys and they only used space heating so their electricity bill would be about $10,000."

"I used to go there when I was a freshman," said Jacob Korzun '10. "One time my friends fell through the floorboards in the kitchen because they were rotting so much."

Pine Street was by no means an anomaly, but it became infamous, not just among students, but also with coaches and faculty. Kristin Hunt '11 said, "Our teammates told us not to go around there. Everybody knew that it just wasn't a good idea."

151 Pine also drew the attention of the Norton Police Department. NPD Lt. Todd Jackson tells a story of wild disrepair: "The experiences we have had with the house include noise complaints from neighbors, loud parties, vandalism to the property and neighboring property, parking on Pine Street that would block one lane of travel, students walking from the residence back to Wheaton late in the evening, and motor vehicle accidents." The most serious incidences that NPD responded to were "motor vehicle accidents involving vehicles leaving the residence, which resulted in the arrests of a number of students."

Some may look back on their memories from the house fondly as they graduate from Wheaton; others may just simply want to forget ever stepping foot in the residence. In any event, Pine Street remains a rusting, rotting, and mildewing part of Wheaton's history.

Harris concludes, "It was debauchery at its fullest."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools